The New Rule
by SlytherinLove30
Summary: It's Christmas time and Tony decides it's time to confront Gibbs about a rule that is holding the whole team back from what they really want. One Shot. Tiva and McAbby


**Author's Note- Here's just a little Holiday one shot. I'm having a few difficulties writing the next chapter of Rota so I figured I'd write this to take a break. Hope you guys like it. Happy Holidays!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.**

_**December 23**_

Tony took a deep breath before entering the house and making his way to the familiar basement. It was closing in on Christmas time or in some cases Hanukah time and this had to be done now. Tonight wasn't going to be like his previous visits. Tonight he was there to stand up to his boss on behalf of him and three of his best friends. Okay so maybe they didn't tell or ask him to go there but it was in everybody's best interest and being the Senior Field Agent, the 'big brother' if you will, it was job to go there.

He made his way down the stairs and saw what he always saw. If nothing else this basement never changed. It still had the same hand tools, the same table, the same jars used for holding nails until somebody got thirsty. And above all, the same man, working on the same wood. "Hey boss." Tony said as he reached the bottom.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs acknowledged without even looking up at his second.

"I need to talk to you." Tony said, getting down to business. If Gibbs was going to kill him, like he thought he was, he wanted to get it over with as quick as possible. Stalling would just make the older man even angrier.

"About what?" Gibbs said, again not even sparing a glance up.

"Rule Twelve." Tony said as he sat down on the stool, across from where Gibbs stood working.

That got Gibbs' attention. He looked up slowly and eyed Tony up and down. He knew there was something going on with him and Ziva lately but he tried to convince himself that neither of them would blatantly go against his rules. Apparently he was wrong. He didn't like being wrong. "Those rules are there for a reason."

"I know boss, but…" he tried to defend himself but Gibbs cut him off.

"No, Tony! I put that rule in there for a reason. I know what could happen if things don't work out. You could lose a lot." Gibbs warned him.

"Oh you know exactly what's going to happen!" Tony yelled, his patience gone. "Just because you and Jenny weren't able to make it work, doesn't mean me and Ziva won't."

Gibbs growled. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, no? It was pretty obvious to me and the rest of the God damned office that that's what had happened. I mean, she is the reason for rule twelve, isn't she?" he said as he bitterly laughed.

"That's not the point." Gibbs said.

"Then what's the point?" Tony asked tersely.

"The point is you and she are no good at relationships and I don't want to see you hurt each other." Gibbs told him.

"That may be part of it but I think you just have a problem with change, especially when it goes against what you think is right." Tony told him. "Besides, it's not just me and Ziva."

"Don't tell me Abby and McGee are at it again." Gibbs sighed.

"Not officially but everybody knows that Tim never gave up loving her, even when he was dating somebody else." Tony said.

"Abby doesn't want a serious relationship." Gibbs said. He wasn't lying either, she had said on more than one occasion that she wasn't one for commitment.

"Abby doesn't want a relationship with anybody because she knows she can't have the only person she would commit to. She's too loyal to you to go after what she really wants: Tim." Tony explained to him. Gibbs stayed silent so Tony kept going. "You can't tell me that you've never just observed the way they interact with each other. How Tim's eyes light up every time you send him to work in the lab. How he's the only person that she allows to be down there to help her. How she gets mesmerized just watching him work. Come on Gibbs."

Gibbs had bared witness to these things but never thought much of it. He just thought they were really good friends. Maybe he wasn't as well aware of his 'kids' as he thought he was. Tony took his silence as just more stubbornness and gave up. "Fine, you obviously don't care. Though I shouldn't be surprised. I guess I just hoped you'd surprise us this time."

With that Tony walked out of the basement and went home. Gibbs thought about what had been pointed out to him. Even though he had token on the role as their surrogate father a long time ago and he wanted to keep things the way they were, he really had no business telling them who to fall in love with and who not to. Maybe it was time to let some of his control.

While he was worried about Tony and Ziva hurting each other, he knew that there was a strong bond there that would be incredibly hard to break. As for Abby and McGee, he was starting to let himself see what was really behind the stolen glances. Now that he let himself see it, he could see the similarities between the ways Tim watched Abby to the way he had observed Shannon when they had first been dating. Gibbs knew what he had to do.

~~~NCIS~~~

_**December 25…**_

Abby sighed as she made her way up to the bullpen in the elevator. It was Christmas Day and she had nothing better to do but go to work. Technically she wasn't on duty but she told Vance that she'd come in anyway. When she had gotten to her lab earlier, she found a note from Gibbs telling her to come up stairs.

As she walked into the bullpen, she saw Tony, Ziva and McGee standing in the middle of their desks whispering about something. Gibbs was nowhere to be found. "Hey guys. What's going on?" she said approaching them.

"We are not sure, but Gibbs sure is acting strange." Ziva answered her.

"Yeah, he left me a note to come up here." Abby told them.

"This is really weird. There was something on my desk that said to keep all you guys here until he came back. Do you think something's wrong?" Tim said.

"I don't know but I still don't get why he put that note on your desk. It should have been on mine. I'm the Senior Field Agent." Tony complained.

"We know Tony you've said that five times already." Ziva said with an exasperated sigh.

As the two started to go back and forth McGee and Abby watched them laughing. Abby stood behind Tim and began to draw patterns on his arm without even thinking. Tim on the other hand, did notice and melted into her touch.

"Knock it off." Gibbs said as she entered the bullpen at the same time as he hit both Ziva and Tony on the back of the head. Both agents rubbed their heads but were too curious to protest the slap.

"What's going on, Boss?" Tony asked, even though he had an idea where this was going. He was probably reprimand him and Ziva and then send one of them to another team. But that didn't explain why he called Abby up there too.

"I have something I want to tell you all." Gibbs began. "I've decide that rule twelve needs to be changed."

All of the four were shocked. This hadn't been what any of them had been expecting. Abby was the most shocked. She had never fully let herself admit it but she always though that it was the most unfair of Gibbs' rule. Now she was jumping up and down on the inside as she sneaked a peak at Tim's face to get his reaction.

Gibbs continued. "Instead of 'never date a coworker' it will be 'keep it out of the office'. Got it?" he asked at their expressions.

A chorus of 'yes boss's' rang out. "Good" Gibbs said. "Now get out of here and enjoy your Christmas." Then he walked off again.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other for only a split second before they turned back towards their desks, grabbed their things, and left as fast as possible.

Tim and Abby awkwardly stood next to each other. "So, what are you doing tonight?" Tim asked with a little stammer in his voice.

Abby smiled. She loved it when she was able to catch glimpses of the old McGee. Not that she didn't like the new confident Tim, but sometimes it was nice to see here insecure Timmy again. The one she fell for in the first place. "Nothing you?" she asked.

"Uh, no. I was just going to go home." He said.

"You're not going to see Sarah?" she questioned. Usually the siblings spent all of the holidays together.

"She's spending it with my parents." Tim said sadly.

Abby knew that Tim wasn't on good terms with his parents and that the topic was a sore one with him so she steered the conversation back to where she had hoped it be going. "Maybe we can spend it together." She offered.

Tim looked at her and saw the hopefulness in her eyes. A smile appeared on his face. "I would really like that." Tim said.

Gibbs stood secretly watching them around the corner. He allowed a smile to make its way onto his face as he watched the two leave. He knew in that moment that he had made the right decision.

_**The End…**_


End file.
